Minimally invasive surgical techniques such as endoscopies and laparoscopies are often preferred over traditional surgeries because the recovery time, pain, and surgery-related complications are typically less with minimally invasive surgical techniques. Rather than cut open large portions of the body in order to access inner cavities, surgeons either rely on natural orifices of the body or create one or more small orifices in which surgical instruments can be inserted to allow surgeons to visualize and operate at the surgical site.
Some minimally invasive procedures can require that a working end of a device, which is inserted into the body, be articulated to angularly reorient the working end relative to the tissue. During such a procedure, for example, it is often necessary to position the working end at an angle relative to a shaft of the device, while still allowing the working end to performing various functions. Thus, surgical devices can include a flexible portion of a shaft that allows the end effector coupled thereto to articulate. Manufacturing the flexible portion typically involves making separate parts that can require multiple steps to assemble. Also, the multiple parts need to be reliably held together, and additional labor and costs can be expended to achieve this. Furthermore, it may be challenging to design and manufacture a flexible portion that has sufficient flexibility while maintaining sufficient rigidity and allowing proper control over articulation of the end effector.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods and devices for allowing articulation of an end effector on a surgical instrument.